La Maison Magique

When it comes to water-based action, you may have to do a coin toss between Genêts (45 minutes’ drive) and La Ferté-Macé (45 minutes). On the one hand, you’ve got sandy beaches, and on the other the lake’s big buzz (for watersports, including windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking). There’s a pretty imposing sight in Domfront (25 minutes). It’s a medieval fortified town, towered over by a large castle. It’s certainly up there in competition with Fougères (35 minutes), which has a grand castle of its own – and an old and new town too. Classed a UNESCO World Heritage site, Mont Saint-Michel (55 minutes) is another big sight to see – a tidal island topped with a huge abbey. Also by the ocean, Saint-Malo (an hour and 20 minutes) has an old town with Romanesque and Gothic features. Once you’re done with the big-shot historical sites, a slightly calmer time may be in store in Bagnoles-de-l'Orne (40 minutes). This is a spa town, after all, so the hype here is all about its thermal spa (the only one in northwestern France, by the way) or gentle days beside the river. Similarly, Dragey-Ronthon’s (50 minutes) sand dunes make a nice refuge by the sea.